High Quality Printing Presses - Akiyama International

Akiyama Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary - A Look into the Future of AIC

Sixty Years Have Passed Since the Birth of Akiyama. We Are Now Moving to the Next Stage in Our Drive for Further Growth.

Six years have passed since we changed our name to Akiyama International Co., Ltd. in February 2002. The six years have been a very fruitful period, during which we have increased our sales to nearly double the numbers we had under the old name. However, the path hasn't always been a bed of roses. In response to the increasingly diverse printing needs we are seeing in recent years, rival press manufacturers have released new models one after another. The market competition is intensifying and the selling prices of large printing presses are down anywhere from 10% to 20% in Japan. This creates a particularly tough situation for a company like Akiyama, which prides itself on making quality machines. Because we cannot lower the quality standards of our components, we have struggled to cope with the falling prices. Had we been able to maintain the same prices we offered six years ago, we could have generated record sales last year.

The recovery of our business condition has been driven by the support of customers, the cooperation of sales agents and the united efforts of all our employees. Akiyama had excellent press manufacturing technology to begin with. The only problem was that we failed to make a timely response to the changing market condition after the collapse of the bubble economy. Both the management team and employees worked together to solve the problems we had in the areas of manufacturing and sales. We also changed the various management methods and processes in order to stabilize the company. If we only look at the past six years, it is possible to say we were able to make a turnaround almost entirely on our own without seeking help or intervention from the parent company. Shanghai Electric Group, however, also learned a lot from our turnaround in Japan, which was still in a fragile economic state. During the course of recovery, the class of manager-level employees in their thirties and forties grew significantly. Having a large pool of talented middle management, we now have a solid foundation from which to make future progress.

The increasing strength of Akiyama in overseas markets should not be ignored. Approximately 60% of our total sales came from overseas last year. Particularly in Europe, we maintain high rates of growth. In China, Akiyama has the largest share in the market for perfecting presses. Sales in China now account for approximately 15% of our total sales, but this year we are going to raise it to 18%.

For Shanghai Electric Group, Akiyama International is not a subsidiary whose single purpose is to repatriate its profit. Eventually the time will come when Akiyama can produce synergistic effects and thereby benefit Shanghai Electric Group in terms of technology and cost. One area in which we can do this is sourcing of parts. I'm often asked about our position on this topic. Except for a small number of quality parts, a majority of parts made in China still lack quality acceptable to Akiyama's standard. That's why we don't source our key parts from China. However, we are open to the idea of sourcing parts from China in the future, just as other manufacturers are doing now, as long as China-made parts meet our quality requirements.

Our next target is to increase our share in the Japanese market. At the same time we will work to further develop overseas markets. We will then be able to increase sales per employee and return the surplus profit to our customers in the form of added value. We appreciate your continued support and encouragement on behalf of Akiyama International.

Akiyama International Co., Ltd.
Hu Xiong Qing
Representative Director and President

The Akiyama International Company Limited of today originated in 1948. The original company, Akiyama Machinery Manufacturing Corp., built printing presses for the Japanese domestic market until the end of the 1960's. The presses built during this time were of adequate design development for post-war Japan, but not up to the latest international state-of-the-art for the time. At the end of the 60's and the start of the 1970's there were major fundamental changes in the company with a new creative spirit introduced into Akiyama design and thinking. The result was the introduction of the first Akiyama press with truly original design concepts and first-in-the-world features. The Akiyama Hi-Ace 26" Press series.

Since that "breath of life" that changed the company at the beginning of the 70's, Akiyama has continued to progress, grow, and still maintain the creative spirit. During the 70's the Hi-Ace press series in 26" and 38", then 28" and 40", as well as 32" and 44", was improved and refined. In the mid 80's Akiyama introduced a new generation of presses which replaced the Hi-Ace. This was the Bestech series which continues to this day to be the primary product line of Akiyama.

In 1994 Akiyama introduced another new and revolutionary press model. The JPrint series. The first sheetfed offset press, not blanket to blanket type, to print both sides of a sheet while maintaining one gripper edge through the process.


34-11 Takara-machi, 2-chome Katsushika-ku, Tokyo Japan 124-0005 81-3-3693-5191 81-3-3693-5194		13311 E. 166th Street Cerritos, CA 90703 (562)404-4767 (562)404-0690 11A Merchants Plaza Tannersville, PA 18372 (800)245-7658 (570)619-7640 (570)619-7642

261-1 Sugao-machi Joso-shi, Ibaraki Japan 303-0044 81-297-27-2601 81-297-27-2608

1948

A.F.O.

- Akiyama Machinery Manufacturing Corporation was established.
- Akiyama developed the first 40-inch, hand-feed, Flap type delivery, single-color offset press (A.F.O.) featuring a bellows system without a plate-cylinder ink plate or a stripping-processed impression cylinder in Japan.

1953

- Akiyama developed the world's first “swing hand-feed” method and released a swing-type 44-inch, 2-color offset press (ATC-2) called “Akiyama's quick hand-feed press.”

1957

AOC-41 Model

- Akiyama released a 32-inch, single-color offset press (AOC-41) employing the newly developed large-diameter ink rollers. The AOC-41 received rave reviews for its ability to eliminate the problem of ghosting.

1960

- Akiyama developed an original feeder and launched a 40-inch, automatic 2-color offset press (ATP-30) featuring the feeder.
- Akiyama released the world's fastest 40-inch automatic singlecolor offset press (MT-30), with a printing speed of 6,000 sheets per hour.

1961

- Akiyama exhibited its 40-inch, high-speed, automatic singlecolor offset press (MTP-30), designed as a high-pile delivery press, at the Gutenberg Expo.

1964

- Akiyama developed a 44-inch, automatic 2-color offset press (ATC-K23S) and a 40-inch, automatic 2-color offset press (ATCK33S), both adopting the Kubo style feeder and registration system.

1965

Super Ace (SA) Model

- Akiyama gave birth to the Super Ace (SA) series, a line of printing presses boasting the industry's highest printing speed of 7,200 sheets per hour.

1969

- Akiyama developed single-color versions of its existing 2-color TH press and sold these models as the TH Series.

1971

Hi-Ace (HA) Model

- Akiyama developed the impression cylinder (triple-size diameter) technology and gave birth to the Hi-Ace (HA) series, thus achieving the world's highest printing speed of 12,000 sheets per hour.

1972

SL-238 Model

- Akiyama developed a 40-inch, high-speed automatic offset press (SL-238) as a general-purpose press machine offering operational stability, and released the Select Series, comprising variations of the SL-238.
- Akiyama Service Corporation was established.

1973

- Akiyama Machinery Manufacturing Corporation spun off its Manufacturing and Sales divisions and established Akiyama Printing Machinery Manufacturing Corporation and Akiyama Machine Sales Corporation. Akiyama Engineering & Manufacturing Corporation was established the following year.

1979

- Akiyama altered its product specifications to adapt the international 40” size instead of the kikuzen size (Japanesespecific size), in keeping with the market trend overseas.
- The new head office building of Akiyama Printing Machinery Manufacturing Corporation was completed.

1981

- Akiyama developed the world's first 40-inch, offset perfecting press (HA-1P-40) as a double-side printing press adopting “impression cylinders and non-sheet-converting mechanism.”

1984

BT-440

- Akiyama adopted the MABEG feeder, developed a simultaneous plate mounting system and released a 40-inch, automatic 4-color offset press (BT-440) featuring Akiyama's original 3-4-3 cylinder configuration. Variations of the BT-440 were sold as the Bestech (BT) Series.

1985

- No.1 Mitsukaido Plant building was completed.
- Akiyama Service Corporation was split into Akiyama East Japan Equipment Service Co., Ltd. and Akiyama West Japan Equipment Service Co., Ltd.

1986

- No.2 Mitsukaido Plant building was completed.

1988

- Akiyama established Akiyama Support Center Europe and Akiyama Service Corp. of America as part of its effort to provide better serve Akiyama users overseas.

1992

QC-40 Model

- Akiyama developed a 40-inch, sheet-fed press inspection machine (QC-40) as a system capable of automatically inspecting printed sheets.
- Akiyama developed its original high-speed sucker head (K-92).

1993

BT-P428

- Akiyama developed a 28-inch size offset perfecting press (BTP428) supporting four colors on the front side and one color on the back side.

1994

- Akiyama announced a 44-inch, 1-over-1 (sheet-fed) offset perfecting press (JP1P144) as a double-sided simultaneous press employing new mechanisms, and sold variations of the JP1P144 as the Jprint (JP) Series.

1999

- Akiyama developed a 28-inch size 9-color offset perfecting press (BT-P828) supporting eight colors on the front side and one color on the back side.
- Akiyama developed a 40-inch, 6-over-6 (sheet-fed) offset perfecting press (JP6P640) as the world's first double-sided, 12- color sheet-fed press.
- Akiyama received ISO 9001 certification.

2002

- Akiyama International Co., Ltd. began operation.

2004

eXtreme (XT) Model

- Akiyama announced the new single-sided press eXtreme (XT), featuring a variety of new mechanisms.

2005

Jprint RF

- Akiyama developed the Jprint RF sheet-fed perfecting press, supporting rolled paper feeding.
- Akiyama developed a quality inspection system for JP40/44 perfectors.

2007

MEGA Jprint 40

SUPERTECH 40

- The JP40 family underwent a major model change, and the improved models were relaunched as the MEGA Jprint 40 Series.
- Akiyama announced its SUPERTECH 40 Series, including models with higher productivity, to succeed the Bestech Series.